The International Monetary Fund has urged Cambodia to tighten casino licensing checks, saying the existing system does not adequately establish whether ultimate owners are suitable or whether money used to establish or acquire gambling businesses comes from legitimate sources.
The recommendation, in the IMF’s 2026 Article IV assessment, focused on gaps that could expose gambling businesses to criminal control. Focus Gaming News reported that the fund also identified financial-integrity risks connected to scam activity and called for stronger co-operation between regulators and law-enforcement agencies.
Cambodia’s commercial gambling law requires shareholders holding at least 10% and senior managers to demonstrate good reputation, honesty and integrity. But the Commercial Gambling Management Commission of Cambodia generally relies on criminal-record certificates in its suitability checks.
The fund recommended extending fit-and-proper assessments to beneficial owners and directors, examining the business connections of people and companies involved in applications, and verifying the lawful source of funds before licences are issued. It said deeper scrutiny could be needed where applicants are linked to high-risk businesses or politically exposed persons.
The IMF also proposed information-sharing among regulators and supervisory authorities, arguing that a single licensing review may not reveal all relevant ownership or business connections. Such co-operation could also allow concerns about operators to be addressed after a licence has been granted.
As we reported in September, the CGMC is preparing a casino integrity and quality evaluation framework for licence renewals, intended to determine minimum suitability conditions for casino licences. Most existing Cambodian casino licences are expected to come up for renewal around 2027, which the IMF identified as an opportunity to apply strengthened ownership and integrity tests.
The advice comes amid Cambodia’s campaign against online scam operations, some of which were allegedly run from casino premises. Authorities said in September that 18 casino licences had been revoked over scam links and nine more suspended pending investigation.
The licensing concerns echo a 2021 advisory by the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury and Commerce, which warned that rapid growth in Cambodia’s casino sector had outstripped regulatory capacity and created illicit-finance risks. Cambodia was removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in 2023 after completing a multi-year action plan on anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing deficiencies.
